Robots

A Smooth Turn: Mapping Success in the Labyrinth of Waypoints

Things We Built
Navigating the Future - Milestone Achievement in Waypoint Navigation Charting New Paths We’ve hit a significant milestone in our journey towards Pi Wars domination: the successful implementation of advanced waypoint navigation. This breakthrough allows our robot to traverse a series of predefined x,y points with precision, marking a leap forward in our strategy for overcoming the Minesweeper, Lava Palava, and Escape Route challenges. Speed and Precision: A Balancing Act One of the standout enhancements in our latest navigation code is the ability to set different speeds for each waypoint.

Zany Zappers: Zeroing in on Zombie Zapocalypse

Things We Built
Conquering the Zombie Apocalypse: A Journey Through Innovation and Strategy Welcome to our latest update on the journey to Pi Wars 2024, where our team is gearing up to face the thrilling Zombie Apocalypse challenge. With creativity, technical prowess, and a dash of sci-fi flair, we’re excited to share the progress of our robot’s specialized attachment designed to take down the undead with precision and style. The Challenge Ahead The Zombie Apocalypse challenge tasks our robot with clearing zombies from the Pi Wars Tower.

Barrel Ballet: Steering Through the Eco-Disaster with Grace and Grit

Things We Built
Navigating the Eco-Disaster: A Manual Prelude to Autonomy In the heart of our preparations for the Eco-Disaster challenge at Pi Wars, we took to the arena in manual mode, a crucial step before unleashing our robot autonomously. This challenge, a test of precision and speed, requires our robot to distinguish and sort barrels of ’toxic slime’—a task demanding both agility and strategy. In our manual test of the Eco-Disaster challenge, the “Virtual Ackermann” steering showcased exceptional maneuverability, laying any concerns to rest.

Challenges with first test drive of new chassis and pcb

Things We Built
Navigating the Challenges of Innovation – A Week with OSoD This week has been a whirlwind of progress and challenges for Team Cyberwar as we forge ahead with our Pi Wars contender, Overwhelming Surplus of Diggity (OSoD). With a blend of breakthroughs and technical hiccups, our journey exemplifies the dynamic world of robotics. Progress Highlights: Wiring and Assembly Completion: Robert has meticulously finished the wiring for our new chassis and PCB, setting the stage for a pivotal moment in OSoD’s development.

Printing Progress: Perfecting our Pi Wars Podium Prospect

Things We Built
From CAD to Reality: Refining Our 3D-Printed Chassis for Pi Wars Glory Following the completion of our CAD design, we’ve taken the exciting step of 3D printing our new chassis design for the Pi Wars robot. This phase brought our digital blueprints to life, allowing us to conduct a test assembly that was both revealing and invaluable. While the initial assembly showed promising results, we identified several areas needing refinement to ensure our robot is battle-ready.

Circuiting Success: The PCB That's Driving Us Forward

Things We Built
Powering Innovation - The PCB Behind Our Pi Wars Robot A Foundation for the Future In our quest to dominate Pi Wars, the heart of our robot’s prowess lies in a meticulously designed Printed Circuit Board (PCB), conceived and realized by our very own Robert K. This PCB is not just a circuit; it’s the central nervous system of our entry, embodying innovation, resilience, and adaptability. Design Specification Power: 3S battery system with XT30 connectors and a barrel jack, featuring over-voltage, under-voltage, and over-current protection via eFuses.

Layer-by-Layer

Things We Built
Layer by Layer: Assembling Victory with Our 3D-Printed Pi Wars Gladiator The Journey to the Final Design In our quest to build a formidable contender for Pi Wars 2024, we’ve reached a significant milestone: the completion of the CAD design for our robot’s “final” base. This design represents not just the culmination of our efforts thus far but also a blueprint for the exciting steps ahead. Initially, we envisioned a chassis that doubled as a PCB.

Uncommon Ground

Things We Built
Uncommon Ground: The Shared Ingenuity of OSoD and the Latest in Mobility and Robotics In the realm of robotics and automotive innovation, a silent revolution brews, one that is as understated as it is radical. At the heart of this revolution lie the Overwhelming Surplus of Diggity (OSoD) – a marvel in the Pi Wars robotics competition – and its three contemporaries: the Hyundai Mobion, Mercedes EQG, and Hiwonder JetRover. What stitches these diverse entities together is their embrace of an ethos that defies convention.

Ackermann Maths

Things We Built
Unveiling the Mathematics Behind Independent Four-Wheel Drive with “Virtual” Ackermann Steering In our journey to harness the full potential of Overwhelming Surplus of Diggity (OSoD), we delve into the intricate world of mathematics that underpins our innovative approach. Whether we’re commanding OSoD in skid steering mode or leveraging its unique “virtual” Ackermann steering, the foundation lies in calculating the wheel speeds and steering angles using a concept known as “inverse kinematics.

Odometry Matters

Things We Built
Odometry Matters In the journey towards Pi Wars 2024, we recently achieved a significant milestone that might sound deceptively simple but holds immense importance: we synchronized our wheel speeds with steering angles for the first time. While it happened relatively late in the build process (we embarked on this project back in 2021), grasping the significance of this achievement requires us to revisit the lessons learned from our past robot, Tauradigm